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<^ RECEIVED V 

■^^i^ 1 - 1904 
^/?/ODICAL^ 



THE ALPHA and OMEGA of 



THE REVOLUTION. 



An Address Delivered Before the Pennsylvania 
Society of Sons of the Revolution, 



By 



GENERAL W. W. H. DAVIS, 

President of the Bucks County, Pa., Historical Society, 



At Washington's Crossing on the Delaware, Pa., 
June 14, 1902. 



PRESS OF 

THi NEW ERA PRINTING COMPANY 

^NCASTER, PA. 



■^ 



THE ALPHA and OMEGA of 



THE REVOLUTION. 



An Address Delivered Before the Pennsylvania 
Society of Sons of the Revolution, 



>»" -x -■- -T'' 



By 

GENERAL w! W. H. DAVIS, 

President of the Bucks County, Pa., Historical Society, 



At Washington's Crossing on the Delaware, Pa., 
June 14, 1902. 



PRESS OF 

TME NEW ERA PRINTING COMPANY, 

>-«NCA8TER, PA. 



p. 



1 ^^ 



1 ' ' > 



THE ALPHA AND OMEGA OF 
THE REVOLUTION. 

An Address Delivered Before the Pennsylvania Society 
of Sons of the Revolution, 

BY 

GENERAL W, W. H. DAVIS, 

President of the Bucks County, Pa., Historical Society, 

At "Washington's Crossing on the Delaware, Pa., June J4, 1902. 

The story of the Revolution, my countiymen, cannot be too 
often told. The wisdom and patriotism of the statesmen who led 
the revolt against the British crown, and the courage, endurance 
and forbearance of the men who fought the battles, were never 
surpassed. 

The Delaware-Schuylkill peninsula, whereon we have assem- 
bled for this interesting occasion, including both banks of its two 
rivers, is the Alpha and Omega of the Revolution. No other 
section of the Union is so rich in Revolutionary lore. It can 
never be forgotten that on this peninsula, at Philadelphia, a city 
founded in deeds of peace, the immortal Declaration of Indepen- 
dence, that gave form and substance to the Revolution, was made 
and published to the world. It was repeatedly traversed by the 
Continental army, with Washington at its head, immediately pre- 
ceding or following important military operations, and was the 
center of the events that made the thirteen feeble colonies an inde- 
pendent nation. From my home, at Doylestown a few miles to 
the west, a vigorous man, on a summer's day, can walk to any 
one of eight battlefields of the Revolution — Trenton, Princeton, 
Brandywine, Paoli, Germantown, Red Bank, the Crooked Billet 
and Monmouth, a group of historic fields seldom found within 
such narrow limits, not to mention Valley Forge, where more 

3 



courage was required than to face the enemy on the field. On 
this peninsula Lafayette reported for duty in the Continental army, 
and the house is still standing, six miles below Doylestown, in 
which he first took his seat at the council board. Here, also, the 
gallant Count Pulaski, than whom the cause of independence had 
no more devoted supporter, laid his sword on the altar of Liberty. 
When the seven years' struggle was over, the cause of free gov- 
ernment had won the day, and the weapons of war were " hung 
up as bruised monuments," delegates assembled in the City of 
Philadelphia and, in the same room where the Declaration of 
Independence was formed, framed a Constitution that made and 
has preserved us a nation. These events, transpiring on this 
peninsula at such an important period in our history, suffice to 
make it holy ground and should invite young and old, from all 
parts of the Union, to come hither and drink in a new inspiration 
of patriotism. 

If we place a finger on the page of revolutionary history, and 
follow the tide of war from the firing of the first shot at Lexing- 
ton, thence to Bunker Hill and the siege of Boston, down 
through the Atlantic seaboard states to Long Island, to New 
York Island, Fort Washington, through New Jersey and across 
the Delaware, behind whose sheltering waters the fagged-out 
Continentals sought safety, almost as fugitives, we shall find the 
campaign of 1776, so far, to have been a failure; and whatever 
of victory military critics may award the Continental army was 
of a negative character. This, however, was not because the 
patriots had not made a stubborn resistance, or their commander 
displayed great skill, — victory went with the strongest battalions. 
Washington exhibited consummate generalship in his retreat 
from Long Island and escape from the trap set for him on New 
York Island. The cloud of defeat, however, was not v/ithout its 
silver lining, although it could not be discerned by mortal eye. 
While the feeble army was melting away from fatigue, death, 
wounds and capture, its great commander was daily gathering 
new strength from the God of battles and would soon be called 
upon to display it. 



While Washington was marching toward the Delaware, he 
announced to Congress his contemplated retreat across the " 
river, requested the Pennsylvania militia be ordered toward Tren- 
ton, directed the boats to be collected on the west bank, and 
General Greene and Colonel Humpton were charged with their 
safety. Greene was at Bogart's tavern, now Righter's, at Center- 
ville, Buckingham Township, on December lo, and all the boards 
and scantling were collected near the river bank. Putnam was 
ordered to construct rafts of the lumber at Trenton landing, and 
the arms of the non-Associators were collected to prevent them 
falling into the hands of the enemy. 

Washington, with the main body of the army, reached Trenton 
December 3, the heavy stores and baggage being immediately 
removed to this side. He crossed over with the rear guard 
Sunday morning, the 8th, and took quarters at the Barclay 
house, still standing, on the high ground opposite the crossing 
at Morrisville. The enemy came marching down to the land- 
ing about eleven o'clock the same morning, but were disap- 
pointed in finding the boats had been removed to the west side. 
They made some attempt to cross above and below, including a 
night march to Coryell's Ferry, now New Hope, but the attempts 
were failures. The hostile armies now faced each other across a 
wintry river and the cause of independence was saved. 

General Greene, from Bogart's tavern, Dec. 10, ordered General 
Ewing to send sixteen Durham boats and four flats down to Mc- 
Conkey's, the present Washington's Crossing. Maxwell was 
directed to collect the boats as high up the river as there was 
danger of the enemy seizing them, and place them under a strong 
guard, and boats were ordered to be collected at one of the 
Tinicum ferries for the passage of Lee's troops shortly expected 
to join Washington, The Legislature of New Jersey, which 
left the State with the army, was summoned to meet at " Four 
Lanes End," now Langhorne, Bucks County, the last Thursday 
of December to " take action on the future." Such was the 
situation, and these the precautions taken, on the west bank of 
the Delaware at this critical period. 



One of Washington's first concerns was to guard the fords and 
crossings of the river to prevent the passage of the enemy, and, 
for this purpose, on the morning of December 9, he sent four 
brigades, under Lord StirHng, Mercer, Stephen and De Fermoy, 
up the river to take post between Yardley's and Coryell's ferries. 
Stirling was at Beaumont's in Solebury Township, with three 
regiments which he had under cover by the 1 2th and De Fermoy 
at Coryell's. General Dickinson guarded the river from Borden- 
town to Yardley, General Cadwalader near Bristol, and Colonel 
Nixon's regiment was at Dunk's Ferry. Small redoubts were 
thrown up at various points and each detachment supplied with 
artillery. The general instructions to the troops, if driven from 
their positions, were to retreat to the strong ground near German- 
town. The depot of supplies was fixed at Newtown, the then 
county seat, because of its central position, removed from the 
river and easy of access from all points. General Sullivan, with 
Lee's division in a destitute condition, joined Washington on 
December 20, and, the same day, General Gates came in with 
four New England regiments five hundred strong. These rein- 
forcements raised the strength of the army to about 6,000, a large 
portion being unfit for service. 

The headquarters of the commander-in-chief, and his most 
trusted lieutenants, were at farm houses in the vicinity of the 
troops and in easy communication with each other, Washington 
occupied the dwelling of William Keith, on the road from Browns- 
burg to the Eagle. Greene was at Robert Merrick's, a few hun- 
dred yards to the northeast, Sullivan at Hayhursts, on the road 
to Newtown, and Knox and Hamilton at Dr. Chapman's over 
Jericho hill to the north. The main body of the army was en- 
camped in sheltered places along or near the streams not far 
from the river. No doubt the position for headquarters was se- 
lected with an object — ^its nearness to the Delaware and Jericho 
hill, from whose top signals could be seen a long way up and 
down the river, when the trees were bare of leaves. Here Wash- 
ington was near the upper fords of the Delaware, at which it was 
supposed the enemy would attempt to cross, and within a half 
hour's ride of the depot at Newtown. 



The mansions, where Washington, Greene, Knox and Alexander 
Hamilton were quartered, are still standing and in good condi- 
tion. The Keith house has undergone some repairs and the 
arrangement of the rooms changed but the walls are the same 
— a two-story stone, twenty -four by twenty -eight feet, with 
kitchen adjoining — built by William Keith, 1763. The outer 
pine door was in two folds set in a solid oaken frame, and gar- 
nished with a wooden lock fourteen by eight inches. Until 
within a few years the interior finish in pine was unchanged, and 
one room had never been despoiled by the painter's brush. 
Washington occupied the main front room downstairs for an 
office, and slept in the chamber over it. The fireplace was in the 
northwest corner, and on an iron spike, driven into the wall under 
the mantel, tradition tells us the General's staff" officers hung their 
turkeys to roast over the fire, but this amusement was not in- 
dulged until after the General had retired. The situation, on the 
south side of Jericho hill, is retired and exposed to the sun. 

The Merrick house, a fourth of a mile away across the fields 
and meadows on the road from Newtown to Neeley's mill, is a 
stone dwelling 20 feet square with a kitchen at the west end. 
The farm was bought by Samuel Merrick, 1773, and now be- 
longs to a member of the family of the same surname. When 
General Greene occupied the house the first floor was divided into 
three rooms, and the family lived in the kitchen. As the house 
was recently built, but not finished, the General had the walls of 
the room he occupied tastefully painted, with a picture of the 
rising sun over the fireplace. At that time Samuel Merrick had 
a family of half-grown children about him, who were deeply im- 
pressed with passing events and their descendants are full of the 
traditions of the times. Greene purchased the confidence of the 
young daughter, Hannah, by the gift of a small tea canister that 
was kept in the family many years. The Rhode Island black- 
smith lived on the fat of the land while quartered on this Upper 
Makefield farmer, devouring his flock of turkeys and monopoliz- 
ing his only fresh cow, besides eating her calf. In return Gen- 
eral Greene allowed the family to use sugar from the barrel 



8 

bought for his own mess. The Chapman mansion, the quarters 
of General Knox and Alexander Hamilton — now belonging to 
the Johnson family, on the opposite side of Jericho hill a mile 
from Brownsburg — is also in excellent condition, and probably 
the best preserved house in the county of the revolutionary 
period. Knox occupied the front room first floor of the west 
end, then divided into two rooms, now both in one, twenty-five 
by seventeen feet, and Hamilton, then a young captain of artil- 
lery, lay sick in the back room. The late Peter G. Cattell, who 
lived and died on an adjoining farm, and whom I personally knew 
in my boyhood, used to relate that he saw Washington at Knox's 
quarters. 

Many of the line and regimental officers were quartered at 
farm-houses near their camps and their location is well known. 
Captain Washington, Lieutenant James Monroe, subsequently 
President of the United States, and Surgeon Ryker were at Will- 
iam Neeley's, over the line in Solebury Township ; Captain James 
Moore, of the New York Artillery, a young man of twenty-four, 
died at the house of Robert Thompson the day the Continental 
army recrossed the Delaware to attack the Hessians, and was 
buried just below the mouth of Pidcock's creek in the edge of 
the timber. His grave, still to be seen, is marked by sculptured 
stones and a few years ago patriotic persons of the neighborhood 
enclosed it with an iron railing ; Marinus Willett, Jr., an officer 
of a New York infantry regiment, died at the house of Mathias 
Hutchinson, Buckingham Township, and was buried near his 
dwelling, whence the remains were removed to the family vault 
at home. 

Washington had not been long on the west bank of the Dela- 
ware, after making his small army secure from attack, when he 
took the military situation into serious consideration. This he 
grasped at a glance, and recognized the campaign of 1776 to 
have been a failure. He was now convinced the military policy 
must be radically changed, and that immediately, from a defensive 
to an aggressive war, if the Colonies would win their indepen- 
dence. His subsequent attack on the Hessians at Trenton was 



9 

the keynote of Washington's new policy and the turning point in 
the conflict. 

The situation, at a glance, in the early days of December, 
1776, was as follows and very critical. An icy river separated 
the defeated Continentals from their victorious foe, and the enemy 
was only waiting for the river to freeze over, that he might cross 
and finish the struggle at a single blow, and there was great 
danger of it. This, by all odds, was the darkest hour in the 
war for independence, and all eyes and all hearts were turned to 
Washington as the saviour of the country. Even Congress was 
preparing to throw on him the entire responsibility of the war, 
but he presented to the army and the country the calm dignity 
that marks the undaunted spirit and invites confidence. The 
crisis had arrived and Washington met it with undaunted 
courage. 

It is often the case, in great public tribulation, that new sup- 
porters flock to a good cause at the darkest hour, and when least 
expected. It was so in this emergency. At this juncture, a new 
friend throws the weight of his influence into the scale. This was 
Thomas Paine, the author of " Common Sense," written in the 
American camp during the late campaign. He now issues an- 
other strirring appeal to the disheartened patriots called " The 
American Crisis," which soon became famous, and was first pub- 
lished in the Peniisylvania Journal, of December 19, 1776. 
It was read in every camp and its cheering effect was wonderful. 
Among other things he said : " These are the times that try 
men's souls. The summer soldier and the summer patriot will, 
in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country : but he that 
stands it now deserves the thanks of man and woman." It 
sounded like a clarion note, and stirred every patriotic heart in 
the army. This stirring appeal was ordered to be read at the 
head of each regiment, and the effect upon the spirits of every 
one was apparent. 

The late General William S. Stryker, in his exhaustive book en- 
titled, " The Battles of Trenton and Princeton," draws the follow- 
ing touching picture of the sufferings of the Continental army at 



10 

this period on the west bank of the Delaware ; he says : " What 
could be more cheerless than the condition of the Continental 
army in December, 1776? Christmas Day was approaching, 
but, for them, there was no holiday rejoicing. The weather was 
bitterly cold, and their miserable clothing, which was scarcely 
sufficient to protect them in autumn weather, left them exposed 
to the nipping frost of early winter. At night they lay down on 
these hillsides covered with snow, without so much as a blanket 
to shield them. In lieu of shoes, they had bound their feet with 
rags. Suffering with cold and hunger, marching over the frozen 
ground with bleeding feet ; this was the fate of the patriot army 
which had been gathered for the purpose of resisting British 
tyranny in America. What then was left, for these heroic men, 
but to make one final struggle for liberty : to strike one last, 
desperate blow and die ? The cold increased. Across the Dela- 
ware River, in the cantonment of Trenton, preparations for the 
Christmas revel were in progress ; but, on the Pennsylvania 
shore, men grasped their flintlocks more closely in their chilled 
fingers and waited, with stem, determined faces the next orders 
of their leader." 

Washington's whereabouts from crossing the Delaware Decem- 
ber 8, when driven out of New Jersey by the enemy, to recrossing 
it on the 25th, to attack the Hessians, is not without interest. 
As I have already stated, he made his headquarters at the Bar- 
clay house, the day he crossed into Pennsylvania. He remained 
there until the 14th, when he removed to the Keith house, in 
Upper Makefield Township, to be near the main body of his small 
army. On the i6th he wrote Congress from Keith's : "Many 
of my troops are entirely naked, and most so thinly clad as to 
be unfit for service." The same day he and General Greene rode 
up to Coryell's Ferry ; he was down at Trenton Falls and Mor- 
risville on the 20th inspecting the situation of afiairs, and back at 
headquarters on the 2 2d ; again down at Trenton Falls on the 
24th, and back at headquarters the same day, to make his final 
preparations to recross the river on the 25 th. " Headquarters " 
did not travel about with the Commander-in-Chief, as many 



II 

would suppose, for, when at other localities, his letters were dated 
from " Camp," " Camp above Trenton Falls," &c. 

When Washington first conceived the plan of recrossing the 
Delaware and attacking the Hessians is not definitely known, 
but probably soon after he had crossed to the west bank. Dr. 
Benjamin Rush tells us, in his diary, that he saw Washington 
write the watchword, "Victory or Death," on the 23d of Decem- 
ber, and, about the same time, he wrote to Colonel Reed ; 
" Christmas day, at night, one hour before day, is the time fixed 
upon for the attempt upon Trenton. For Heaven's sake keep 
this to yourself as the discovery of it may prove fatal to us." He 
likewise made Gates acquainted with his plans and wished him to 
go to Bristol, take command there and operate from that quarter ; 
but this jealous subordinate pleaded ill-health, and requested 
leave to proceed to Philadelphia. He left camp Christmas morn- 
ing, a few hours before the troops marched for their rendezvous 
on the bank of the Delaware ; but Gates forgot to halt at Phila- 
delphia, whither his leave allowed him to go, and hastened on to 
Baltimore to intrigue with Congress, and make interest among 
the members against the plans of the Commander-in-Chief 

As General Greene enjoyed Washington's full confidence, there 
is every reason to believe he was among the first to whom the 
plan of recrossing the Delaware was unfolded. On the 24th 
Greene wrote to Colonel Biddle, " If your business at Newtown 
will permit, I shall be glad to see you here. There is some 
business of importance to communicate to you which I wish to 
do to-day." As the contemplated attack on the Hessians was 
fully matured, doubtless this was the "business of importance" 
Greene wished to tell Biddle. But listen to what follows in the 
same letter, and written at the most trying period of the war : 
" No butter, no cheese, no cider — ^this is not for the honor of 
Pennsylvania." While it lets in a ray of light on the gloom of 
war, it lets us know the sturdy soldier, Greene, could not divest 
his mind of " creature comforts " while making ready for the 
bold venture of the morrow. 

In the meantime, Washington was completing his arrange- 



12 

ments to march against the enemy. This had to be done with 
the greatest secrecy as the country swarmed with tories, and he 
knew all his movements were closely watched. Of his whole 
force, estimated at six thousand, only twenty-four hundred could 
be found fit for the service, composed of troops from New Eng- 
land, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The men were provided with 
three days' cooked rations and forty rounds of ammunition. 
General Cadwalader was to cooperate below Bristol by crossing 
and attacking the enemy's post at Mount Holly. A few days 
before Christmas, boats were collected at Knowles' Cove, two 
miles above Taylorsville the place at which we have met, then 
called " McConkey's Ferry." On the evening of December 24, 
after Washington had returned from his inspection of affairs at 
the camp above Trenton, and had turned his glass, for the last 
time, on the enemy across the river, he rode over from Keith's 
to Merrick's to take supper with General Greene. As the con- 
ference concerned the important operations of the next day, there 
is hardly a doubt that Knox and Stirling and Sullivan, and 
probably others of the trusted lieutenants of the commander-in- 
chief, were there. Mr. Merrick's daughter Hannah waited on the 
table and kept the plate, from which Washington ate, as a 
memento of the event. After supper, the family was sent to a 
neighbor's across the fields to spend the night, so there should 
be no listeners to the council of war that was destined to destroy 
British empire in America. It was here the final arrangements 
were made to recross the Delaware and march on Trenton. 
What a momentous occasion ; how big with future events ! 

While Washington was making preparations to strike the 
enemy, everything was pleasant and serene in the Hessian lines 
at Trenton. Their's was a " Merry Christmas," and, in the 
evening, a number of officers, including General Rahl, their com- 
mander, repaired to the house of Abraham Hunt, a suspected 
tory but unjustly so, to conclude the festivities of the day. After 
night fall a Bucks County tory sent a messenger across the river 
with a note for Rahl advising him of Washington's contemplated 
attack. The note was handed to him, but the Hessian General, 



13 

too far gone in his cups to read it, thrust it into his vest pocket, 
where it was found after his death. On what a slender thread 
the destiny of the campaign hung ! 

The troops left their camps about three p. m. Christmas after- 
noon for the attack on Trenton, reaching the place of rendezvous 
late in the day, where the crossing was to be made. The boats 
had previously been collected behind the thick woods, close to 
the west bank of the river at the mouth of Knowles' Creek where 
they were entirely hidden from the Jersey shore. They were now 
brought down to McConkey's Feny, the place selected for the 
crossing. The morning was clear and cold but the night was 
stormy, and about eleven it began to snow. The river was full 
of ice. Wilkinson, who had been sent to Philadelphia in the morn- 
ing, joined the troops on the bank of the river. He had tracked 
the men by the blood from their feet and their bloody tracks, 
where not covered with snow, were to be seen the next morning. 
He brought a letter from General Gates to Washington, and 
upon inquiry, found the commander-in-chief, whip in hand, pre- 
pared to mount. Of their interview, Wilkinson says in his Mem- 
oirs : " When I presented the letter of Gates, before receiving 
it he exclaimed with solemnity. What a time is this to hand me 
letters ! I answered that I had been charged with it by General 
Gates, By General Gates ; where is he ? I left him this morn- 
ing in Philadelphia. What was he doing there ? I understood 
he was on his way to Congress. He earnestly repeated, ' on his 
way to Congress,' then broke the seal, and I made my bow and 
joined General St. Clair on the bank of the river." What a 
group was that collected about Washington on that cold Christ- 
mas night ! With few exceptions, they were the central military 
figures of the Revolution; Greene, Knox, Stirling, Sullivan, Put- 
nam, Mercer, Stark, Stephen, St. Clair, Glover, Hand, DeFermoy 
and Hamilton. Washington placed great reliance on the pro- 
mised support of the troops down the river, for on that hung the 
complete success of the enterprise. One of his last acts, before 
embarking on the wintry Delaware, was to write the following 
letter to his trusted friend and subordinate. Colonel Cadwalader : 



14 

" McConkey's Ferry, 25th Decern., 1776, 
^^ Dear Sir : Notwithstanding the discouraging accounts I have 
from Col. Reed of what might be expected from the operations 
below, I am determined, as the night is favorable, to cross the 
River, and make the attack on Trenton in the morning. If you 
can do nothing real, at least create as great a diversion as pos- 
sible. I am, sir, 

Yr. most Obt. Servt. 

(Signed) Go. Washington." 
Col. Cadwalader. 

The troops commenced to cross, at this place about dark, 
Colonel Glover, with his Marblehead fishermen, leading the 
advance. Washington called Captain Blunt to take the helm of 
the first boat, and he was ably assisted by Lieut. Anthony Cuth- 
bert, of Capt. Moulder's company of artillery of Philadelphia 
Associators. James Slack, a young man of about twenty, son 
of Abraham who lived a mile above Yardley, William Green and 
David Lanning, all acquainted with boats, assisted to ferry the 
army over. It was a difficult task. Men were stationed in the 
bows of the boats with boat-hooks to keep off the cakes of ice, 
and the roar of the waters and the crash of the ice almost 
drowned the words of command. Soon after Stephen's brigade 
had crossed, and formed a chain of sentries around the landing 
place, Washington dismounted, and with his staff around him, 
crossed to the Jersey shore. Before his horse had reached him, 
he sat on a box used as a bee-hive, wrapped in his cloak, a 
deeply interested spectator of what was going on. Meanwhile 
Colonel Knox, of the artillery, stood on the river bank repeating 
Washington's orders as long as they remained on the Pennsyl- 
vania shore ; and, amid all the storm and darkness, his powerful 
voice rang out, directing the movement of the boats. Washing- 
ton expected to have had all his forces, with the artillery, across 
by midnight, and reach Trenton by five, but it was three before 
the guns were all over, and four before the march was begun. 

Allow me to leave the thread of my narrative a moment, and 



^5 

relate an incident in the life of former President Monroe, a lieu- 
tenant in a Virginia regiment, and connected with these operations. 
The late Lewis S. Coryell, of New Hope, one of the most prom- 
inent men of this county, used to take pleasure in relating that, 
on one occasion, after dining with President Monroe at the White 
House, the conversation turned on the passage of the Delaware 
on Christmas night, and the battle of Trenton the next morning, 
Mr, Monroe knowing Mr. Coryell was from that section. The 
President said : 

"After crossing the river I was sent with a command, includ- 
ing a piece of artillery, to the intersection of the Pennytown (now 
Pennington) and Maiden Head (now Lawrenceville) roads, with 
strict orders to let no one pass until I was ordered forward. 
Whilst occupying this position the resident of a dwelling some 
distance up a lane had his attention directed to some unusual 
commotion by the barking of dogs. He came out in the dark to 
learn the cause and encountered my command ; and, supposing 
we were from the British camp, ordered us off. He was violent 
and determined in his manner and very profane, and wanted to 
know what we were doing there such a stormy night. I advised 
him to go to his home and be quiet or I would arrest him. 
When he discovered we were American soldiers, he insisted we 
should go to his house and not stay out in the storm, and said he 
would give us something to eat. I told him my orders were 
strict and we could not leave, when he returned to the house and 
brought us some victuals. He said to me, * I know something is 
to be done and I am going with you ; I am a doctor and I may 
help some poor fellow.' When orders came for us to hasten and 
join the troops on the march to Trenton, the doctor went with us. 
In the attack I was wounded and would have bled to death if 
this doctor had not been near and promptly taken up an artery." 
The President requested Mr. Coryell to go into that neighbor- 
hood and make proper search and inquiry for the doctor's descen- 
dants, and if he found any one fitted for and deserving of an office, 
to let him know, but no trace of the family could be found. 

I repeat, it was three o'clock when all the men, guns and 



i6 

material were landed on the Jersey shore on the ever-memorable 
morning of December 26, 1776. These shivering battalions 
were the last hope of the great cause they had embarked in. I 
dare not attempt to portray Washington's feelings, but we may 
imagine with what earnestness he enjoined upon all profound 
silence during their march to Trenton, and said, " I hope you 
will all fight like men." The troops were hastily formed into 
two divisions, one led by Washington in person, accompanied by 
Lord Stirling, Greene, Mercer and Stephen, by the Pennington 
road, the other by General Sullivan, whose column marched by 
the river road, each division accompanied by trusty guides. The 
morning was bitter cold, and it began to hail as the troops were 
put in march. The distance was made in silence, hardly a word 
being spoken except between officers and guides ; and both offi- 
cers and men seemed impressed with the great importance of the 
venture. Sullivan sent his aide to Washington, to say he feared 
the storm had rendered many of the muskets useless, and asked 
what should be done, to which the Commander-in-Chief replied, 
" Tell your General to use the bayonet and penetrate into the 
town ; for the town must be taken, and I have resolved to take 
it." The answer shows the determined spirit that animated 
Washington. 

Washington's column reached the enemy's outposts exactly at 
eight o'clock, and, within three minutes, he heard the firing of 
Sullivan's division. "Which way is the Hessian's picket?" 
inquired Washington of a man chopping wood at his door, and 
the surly reply came back, "I don't know." "You may tell," 
says Captain Forrest of the artillery, " for that is General Wash- ^ 
ington." The aspect of the man changed in a moment. Drop- 
ping his axe and raising his hand's to heaven he exclaimed, " God 
bless and prosper your Excellency ! The picket is in that house, 
and the sentry stands near that tree there." The result of the 
battle of Trenton, and the cheering effect it had on the cause of 
the Colonies are too well known to need rehearsal here. As soon 
as Washington had gathered up the spoils of victoiy, he recrossed 
the Delaware and marched to Newtown, where the Hessian offi- 



17 

cers were paroled and the soldiers sent to Lancaster, passing 
through Philadelphia to cheer up the patriotic part of the popu- 
lation. Washington reached Newtown the evening of the 26th 
or the morning of the 27th, taking quarters at the house of John 
Harris for the short time he remained. 

Among the prisoners captured at Trenton was a young British 
officer, who was quartered at the house of Dr. Jonathan Ingham, 
near New Hope. He died of pleurisy contracted from a cold[ 
and was buried by the Doctor, but the body was subsequently 
removed to England. The Doctor communicated the death of 
this officer to Washington in poetry, in the style of an elegy, but 
I have space for only two verses : 

" Ah, gentle reader ! as thou drawest near 

To read the inscription on this humble stone 
Drop o'er the grave a sympathizing tear, 

And make a stranger's hapless case thy own. 
***** 
" Flushed with ambition's animating fires, 

My youthful bosom glowed with thirst for fame, 
Which oft, alas ! but vanity inspires, 

To these inclement, hostile shores I came." 

Washington remained at Newtown until December 30, when he 
recrossed the Delaware with the same troops he had with him 
on the 25th, and inaugurated the skillful movements that re- 
stored the greater part of New Jersey to the control of the 
American forces. Although success crowned his efforts, he en- 
countered great dangers, but the God of battles was still 
perched on his banner. He was never in greater peril than on 
the night of January 2, 1777, when the Assunpink Creek sep- 
arated the two armies at Trenton. On Lord Cornwallis's arrival 
he held a brief conversation with his general officers. Sir Wil- 
liam Erskine, Quartermaster General of the British army, sug- 
gested the "Old Fox," as he called Washington, might escape 
in the night, remarking, "If Washington is the general I take 
him to be, his army will not be found there in the morning." 
It is said that Colonel Von Donop advised Cornwallis to send a 
party across the creek into the woods on the American right 



i8 

wing, to prevent an attack on the British left flank. It was for- 
tunate indeed, for Washington's subsequent plans, that Corn- 
wallis did not follow Von Donop's advice. 

That night Washington held a council of war, composed of his 
brigade commanders, at which it was decided to draw off the 
American army at midnight, and, by a rapid march around the 
left flank of the enemy, strike the British rear guard at Princeton. 
This brilHant conception was successfully executed, and a second 
victory crowned the American arms. Recent evidence asserts that 
Washington was slightly wounded at Princeton. This is learned 
from an old letter in the possession of General George B, Cadwal- 
ader, of Sunbury, Pa., and was found in an old Virginia house during 
the Civil War, It was written at Newtown, this county, dated 
January 5, 1777, and directed to Henry Jackson, Esq., of Boston. 
The writer was William Palfrey, and by hunting up his military 
record, I found him to be Paymaster General of the Continental 
army, with the rank of Colonel. The extract reads : " Dr. 
Edwards writes from Trenton that General Washington is slightly 
wounded and General Mercer is missing, supposed either killed 
or made prisoner. We have certainly taken all their baggage at 
Princeton," This evidently refers to the battle of Princeton, as 
the casualties at Trenton had been known several days and 
Mercer was not connected with them, nor Washington. We 
know that Mercer was killed at Princeton, and Washington may 
have been struck by a spent ball, and thought the injury too slight 
to mention publicly, or bad policy to do so and kept quiet. 
Henry Jackson, Esq., to whom Colonel Palfrey's letter was 
written, was the Colonel of one of Massachusetts' new Conti- 
nental regiments. I had the letter in my hands a long time, ex- 
amined it very carefully, am satisfied it is genuine and had been 
well taken care of I returned it to General Cadwalader, who 
now has it. The matter is important enough for our students of 
Revolutionary history to investigate, 

Washington's Trenton-Princeton campaign is conceded to have 
been one of the boldest and most aggressive in modern warfare. 
It seems almost a miracle for the slender force of 2,400 defeated 



19 

men to turn upon a foe largely outnumbering them ; cross a river 
filled with floating ice, assault the enemy and by two consecutive 
blows change the destiny of the British Empire. Is it possible 
for this to have been done by the strength of man alone ? Can 
we doubt the cause of the Colonies was in the keeping of a 
Higher Power ? The winter at Morristown follows ; the enemy 
contract his lines, and Washington sat down to work out his 
plans for the future. He cast aside his Fabian policy and when 
spring opened was prepared to conduct an aggressive campaign 
on interior lines that went far towards settling the struggle. 

The next appearance of the Continental army on the Dela- 
ware-Schuylkill peninsula was in July, 1777. When the enemy 
sailed south from New York the Continental army was put in 
march for the Delaware, Washington, with Greene's division, 
reaching Coryell's Ferry the night of the 29th, one brigade cross- 
ing before morning. General Stephen, with two divisions, crossed 
at Howell's Ferry, now Stockton, four miles above, and Lord 
Stirling at Trenton, sixteen miles below. The troops which 
crossed at Coryell's and Howell's, comprising the bulk of the 
army, marched for Philadelphia down the Old York Road on the 
morning of the 31st, Washington going in advance, reaching the 
city at ten that night. The army encamped at Schuylkill Falls 
the next day where the Commander-in-Chief joined it on the 4th 
of August. It lay there until the afternoon of the 8th when, be- 
cause of the uncertainty of the destiny of Howe's fleet, it retraced 
its march up the York Road and halted on the Little Neshaminy 
Creek in Warwick Township, Bucks County, Sunday evening the 
1 0th. This was half a mile above the present Hartsville, nine 
miles below Coryell's Ferry and six miles from Doylestown. 
The army lay here until August 23, Washington quartering at 
the Moland house — still standing and in good condition, and it 
was here both Lafayette and Pulaski reported for duty. Upon 
receiving news that Howe's fleet had entered the Chesapeake 
Washington again put his army in march down the Old York 
Road, encamping that night at Nicetown, a suburb of Philadel- 
phia. The next day it marched through the city, 1 1,000 strong, 



20 

the first time the Continental army had been there, reaching Wil- 
mington, Del., the 25th. 

These movements were followed by the battle of Brandywine, 
September nth, the enemy taking possession of Philadelphia the 
26th, and the battle of Germantown, October 4th, which prac- 
tically closed the campaign, except a few minor and unimportant 
operations. On December 19th the Continental army encamped 
on the bleak hills at the Valley Forge, where the erection of 
huts for the winter cantonment was immediately begun. Brandy- 
wine was the first battle Washington fought west of the Dela- 
ware, under his changed policy, and, although he was compelled 
to stand on the defensive, it was one of the most important battles 
of the Revolution, and, for the first time, the American troops 
won applause from the enemy in his official report. He had 
just found out the Continentals were " foemen worthy of his 
steel." At Germantown, Washington was the aggressor, the 
enemy making a narrow escape from defeat. This closed the 
campaign of 1777, in the middle Colonies, and three battles out 
of four, counting Trenton one of them, were victories for the 
patriots. The campaign of 1778 opened with Monmouth, where 
Washington was again the aggressor delivering a heavy blow 
to the enemy, who escaped under cover of the night. It was 
equivalent to a victory for the Americans. The enemy returned 
to New York in disgrace, whence he had sailed a year before with 
flying colors, and now only held the territory covered by his 
bayonets. 

The Continental army made its appearance on the Delaware- 
Schuylkill peninsula for the third time, in June, 1778, on its 
march from Valley Forge to strike the enemy at Monmouth. 
General Howe evacuated Philadelphia on the i8th, putting his 
army en route for New York across New Jersey. Washington 
received intelligence of this movement the same morning, and by 
ten o'clock, six brigades, under General Lee, were on their march 
for the Delaware, which they crossed at Coryell's Ferry, the 
evening of the 20th. Washington left Valley Forge, with the 
main body of the army, on the 19th, and encamped at Doyles- 



21 

town the next evening ; resuming his march the afternoon of the 
2 1 St, and crossing the Delaware at Coryell's Ferry the following 
day, engaged the enemy at Monmouth on the 28th. In 1781 
the American and French armies, on their way to lay siege to 
Yorktown, crossed our peninsula, for the fourth time and again, 
on their return north after the defeat and surrender of the enemy, 
making the fifth time the Continental army had made its appear- 
ance on this narrow peninsula. 

I have given a brief review of the military operations on this 
peninsula at the most critical period of the war, and it will be 
observed at a glance, that it played a very important part in the 
struggle for independence. It was the connecting link by land 
between the North and the South, while the enemy, in transport- 
ing his armies from one section to the other, was obliged to trust 
them to the uncertainties of the sea. With the exception of a 
few months, the continental forces had complete control of this 
great highway between the North and the South, giving them 
many advantages. They moved on interior lines at will, their 
communications were secure and their sources of supplies unin- 
terrupted. The untried soldier will appreciate, at a glance, the 
advantage this gave the patriot cause, and it was not neces- 
sary for Sir William Howe, no mean soldier by the way, to be 
told the possession of Philadelphia did not strengthen his cause. 
It was patent to him, and he was wise enough to see it, when he 
relinquished the city and returned to New York. 

The classic address of Mr. Lincoln, on the historic field of 
Gettysburg, in dedicating a portion of it for a final resting place 
for those who died there that the Union might live, is so appli- 
cable to this hallowed spot, and the brave men who took their 
lives in their hands here, on that cold December night, one 
hundred and twenty -six years ago, we cannot refrain from quot- 
ing a paragraph. He said: "We cannot dedicate, wo cannot 
consecrate, we cannot hallow — this ground. The brave men, 
living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it far above 
our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, 
nor long remember, what we may say here, but it can never for- 



22 

get what they did here. It is for us, the hving, rather, to be 
dedicated to the unfinished work which they who fought here 
have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here 
dedicated to the great task remaining before us, that from these 
honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which 
they here gave the last full measure of devotion, that we here 
highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that 
this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and 
that government of the people, by the people, for the people 
shall not perish from the earth." 

Thus, my countrymen, I have briefly detailed the part played 
by the Delaware-Schuylkill peninsula, in the war of independ- 
ence. Here Washington met the crisis of the struggle, and the 
blows, given the enemy at Trenton and Princeton, dispelled the 
gloom and gave hope to the cause. These victories gained the 
sympathy of the civilized world, and it was no longer a serious 
question how the war would terminate. The day star of liberty 
was now plainly to be seen. Time now became a factor to allow 
the mother country to recover from the humiliation of defeat and 
get courage to make terms with the colonies. The war lingered, 
but the final blow at Yorktown opened the eyes of the English 
government to the inevitable result, and peace followed. The 
campaign of Yorktown was the legitimate outcome of Trenton 
and Princeton, the first blows delivered after Washington aban- 
doned his Fabian policy. The operations, in this vicinity, were 
the hinge on which subsequent movements of the war to final 
victory turned. This immediate locality, by common consent, should 
be made a national trysting place by all lovers of their country, 
and here the Congress of the United States should establish a 
National Park to include both banks of the Delaware, to which 
the "Sons of the Revolution," and all other descendants of "the 
times that tried men's souls," could make pilgrimage, as to a 
Mecca of their hope for the perpetuity of republican liberty. It 
would have a greater tendency to weld into a solid mass the 
patriotic sentiment of the country than could be done in any 
other way. 



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